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Replacements for R4 and Nimbus reverbs post-EOL

J

Justin L. Franks

Senior Member
Now that most of Exponential Audio's plugins are being EOL'd by Izotope, I need to start looking for replacements. Namely for the R4 and Nimbus reverbs. I could manage with just an R4 replacement, but it would be nice to have something along the lines of Nimbus as well.

I'm not in any huge rush even though I'm on a Mac, as I am running Catalina at the moment and will be upgrading to Monterey very soon now that Catalina is EOL, and both run on Monterey. I never use the latest version of MacOS unless there is a new 'killer feature' that is truly evolutionary; I wait until my current version goes EOL (which coincides with a new release), then install last year's version. But I think it is best to switch ASAP since reverb is so crucial for us.
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Neoverb is the direct replacement. Same algorithms as nimbus and R4 apparently.

Valhalla vintage room is an r4 alternative.

Hans Zimmer swears by cinematic rooms by liquidsonic, but mostly because of surround capabilities I think.

Lx480 from relab just got updated and on special, that's what r4 is based on, the original lx480 hardware.
 
I intend to continue using Exponential Audio's reverbs until they don't work anymore.

Neoverb may use the same algorithms but most R4 parameters are not available. So unless you're happy with the presets or the assistant, it's frustrating.

I'm hoping for a great BF sale for Cinematic Rooms.
 
I replaced R4 with Cinematic Rooms Pro and TaiChi. Nimbus with TaiChi, but only partially. I don't have another reverb as "airy" but I'm OK with that (SonsigA may be in the neighborhood). HD Cart, as well, for R4. I'm all in on Liquidsonics (I only work in stereo) - but I don't love Seventh Heaven or Illusions.

I disliked Neoverb - maybe the same algos, but it didn't work well for me. If you're really into the Lexicon sound, the new LX480v4 is probably the way to go. Or at least the Essentials (I got it free).

You can find the usual sales info on the last BF sale on Liquidsonics using Google. It's unlikely to be much different, if at all. Already having HDCart and Reverberate3, and then Tai Chi (all on sale), CRP was about $150 for me on sale with the loyalty discounts. That felt like downright theft, since it's the most amazing reverb my ears have ever heard.

Find the reverb your ears love and spend what it takes, ideally on sale, and don't settle.
 
Speaking of the new Relab LX480 version 4, is that a free upgrade from 3.xx? I didn't get any notification as I usually do for updates. I just tried to sign into my account and there's no account associated with my email address anymore. Lol pretty weird.
 
I'd imagine you're weary of continuing support for EA verbs after the EOL... That said, as stated in the email about the decision to EOL them Symphony will open presets from R2/R4, Stratus will open presets from Phonenixverb and Nimbus. These are obviously the supported options for the most accurate replacement.

Cinematic Rooms is a nice alternative, but CR definitely has its own sound so it really would depend on what you meant by replacing... I personally like Neoverb, and while it has a character I like, like CR it does sound quite different and some seem to not gel with the UI...


EDIT: I stand corrected on what I wrote above... There is a pretty noticeable difference. I personally found NV and Stratus to be the most similar, but still noticeably different.
https://vi-control.net/community/th...d-nimbus-reverbs-post-eol.131590/post-5207684
 
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I use R4 to add "tail width" to Spitfire Audio Appassionata since the string release is quite short.

Any other reverb out there that can do this?
 
Daren Audio said:
I use R4 to add "tail width" to Spitfire Audio Appassionata since the string release is quite short.

Any other reverb out there that can do this?
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Not sure if it can do what you want to do, but I really like Nugen Audio's Paragon, a hybrid reverb. It's adjustable in very interesting ways and it sounds fantastic to me.

The only downside is that you can't use your own IRs. It's understandable given the resynthesis needs I guess.
But Nugen added IRs and I'm hoping they'll continue to add some over the years.
You can test it for free.
 
Bman70 said:
Speaking of the new Relab LX480 version 4, is that a free upgrade from 3.xx? I didn't get any notification as I usually do for updates. I just tried to sign into my account and there's no account associated with my email address anymore. Lol pretty weird.
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It is, I received a notification last tuesday and found V4 was already in my Relab account - ready for download. For free.
 
jcrosby said:
That said, as stated in the email about the decision to EOL them Symphony will open presets from R2/R4, Stratus will open presets from Phonenixverb and Nimbus. These are obviously the supported options for the most accurate replacement.
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They say it's a direct replacement, but it really doesn't sound like it to me. Here's an example of the same preset in R4 and Symphony (Med Far Plate, 35% mix). To me, Symphony just doesn't sound right. Same thing comparing the same presets in Nimbus and Stratus. Something about these newer ones makes the reverbs too bright, metallic (?) and more jagged (for lack of a better term) than R4 and Nimbus.

Edit: added Nimbus and Stratus (Neutral Hall preset)

Edit 2: inserted the files into the post.

Dry:
View attachment Cerberus dry.mp3 R4:
View attachment Cerberus R4.mp3 Symphony:
View attachment Cerberus Symphony.mp3 Nimbus:
View attachment Cerberus Nimbus.mp3 Stratus:
View attachment Cerberus Stratus.mp3
 
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cedricm said:
Does the Relab plugin sound better than Best Service's Lexicon 480 pack for Hall of Fame?
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I think the latter are impulse responses? So in terms of control I think the Relab one offers more control. How that translates to the sound I don’t know as I haven’t used the Best Service pack.
 
Reverb is always a tough subject for me, I am extremely picky when it comes to choosing the right one in general, based on the sound. But of course it also depends on what your ears like, what fits your material, as well as how deeply are you planning to customize your reverb.

The reason why I mention all this is because even though there are loads of high quality reverbs out there, nothing comes close to the sound of a Bricasti M7, thus Seventh Heaven when you need a realistic space. It's not algorithmic, so strictly speaking it's not a direct alternative, but it allows more customization due to its Fusion IR. It's the most transparent-sounding reverb I've ever heard (and I've spent hundreds of hours testing almost every reverb plugin I could put my hands on).

An algorithmic alternative to this is the recent Savant Audio Labs release, Quantum 2772 Evolution. It's also not as customizable compared to high-end algorithmic reverbs, but it is very natural-sounding, similarly to the Yardstick model which it is inspired by. Very transparent, although sometimes you need to tweak the high frequencies and the density, especially with percussion.

Cinematic Rooms is also a great algorithmic alternative, but I found it has a bit more build-ups compared to Seventh Heaven, as well as being brighter and lighter on the low-end.

Valhalla reverbs are amazing for their price, but they can be a bit sizzly and grainy compared to the previously mentioned plugins.

For less realistic reverbs, similarly to R4, Neoverb might work better, though I recommend Relab's LX480 instead. You will get a lot more customization out of it.
 
doctoremmet said:
I think the latter are impulse responses? So in terms of control I think the Relab one offers more control. How that translates to the sound I don’t know as I haven’t used the Best Service pack.
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Indeed, 96 KHz 32 bit float true stereo and stereo impulse responses - about 90 each for the Lexicon 480 pack.
There are a few basic parameters, but probably less than in the Relab Plugin:
Replacements for R4 and Nimbus reverbs post-EOL
 
The Quantum and VSS4 are the only plugins that come close to the quality of Nimbus or R4 but they hardly cover all the possibilities the second ones are capable of. I really have a hard time thinking of a true substitute. Neoverb is simply the unwanted son who was supposed to inherit the legacy of both but it seems like the genes skipped one generation.
 
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thorwald said:
Reverb is always a tough subject for me, I am extremely picky when it comes to choosing the right one in general, based on the sound. But of course it also depends on what your ears like, what fits your material, as well as how deeply are you planning to customize your reverb.

The reason why I mention all this is because even though there are loads of high quality reverbs out there, nothing comes close to the sound of a Bricasti M7, thus Seventh Heaven when you need a realistic space. It's not algorithmic, so strictly speaking it's not a direct alternative, but it allows more customization due to its Fusion IR. It's the most transparent-sounding reverb I've ever heard (and I've spent hundreds of hours testing almost every reverb plugin I could put my hands on).

An algorithmic alternative to this is the recent Savant Audio Labs release, Quantum 2772 Evolution. It's also not as customizable compared to high-end algorithmic reverbs, but it is very natural-sounding, similarly to the Yardstick model which it is inspired by. Very transparent, although sometimes you need to tweak the high frequencies and the density, especially with percussion.

Cinematic Rooms is also a great algorithmic alternative, but I found it has a bit more build-ups compared to Seventh Heaven, as well as being brighter and lighter on the low-end.

Valhalla reverbs are amazing for their price, but they can be a bit sizzly and grainy compared to the previously mentioned plugins.

For less realistic reverbs, similarly to R4, Neoverb might work better, though I recommend Relab's LX480 instead. You will get a lot more customization out of it.
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Definitely subjective. To my ears, Seventh Heaven is one of the most obvious reverbs, so heavy and almost fake it changes the original sound. Very much an effect, and nowhere near transparent. I don’t really like it. CRP is so much better to my ears, and so much easier to configure.
 
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